Faded to Black
by Carrie9
Summary: Afer defeating Voldemort Harry makes a life-changing decision. Eight years later his past surprises him, forcing him to face what he wanted to forget
1. Prologue

Title: Faded to Black

Spoilers: All four books

Rating: R

Summary: After a devastating final battle with Voldemort Harry makes a decision which dramatically changes the course of his life. Eight years later his past surprises him forcing him to face things he'd wanted to forget.

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended

Author's Note: First story, so feedback (including 'constructive' criticism) will be welcomed.

Prologue.

The silence, after so much noise was deafening, making his ears ring. Straightening up slowly Harry Potter blinked through the dust surrounding him before carefully placing his wand down on one of the few tables that had remained standing upright in the Three Broomsticks. Moving quickly, aware that he probably only had minutes, he stripped off his Hogwarts school cloak and bending down again arranged it carefully over Ginny Weasley's body trying, unsuccessfully, to cover the worst of the wounds visible through her torn and blood soaked clothes. Crouching by her side Harry reached out one unsteady hand to close her glassy, sightless eyes, then brushed her matted, auburn hair away from her face before leaning forward to press his lips softly to her forehead for one final time, blinking away the tears he could feel prickling at the edges of his eyes as he did so. Standing once again, Harry swallowed past the lump in his throat and surveyed the scene around him with as much of an air of detachment as a seventeen-year-old war veteran could muster. 

What had once been a thriving wizarding pub was now little more than ruins. All around him tables and chairs had been left in splinters and what had once been the bar was now buried under the part of the roof, which had collapsed during the battle. The battle. Harry let out a deep breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. It was over; after nearly three years of terror Voldemort had finally been defeated. He looked across to where what was left of the once powerful and supposedly immortal dark wizard now lay in a heap of bloodied robes half buried by bricks and dust and was once again surprised at how seemingly easy the conflict had finally been decided. Next to him was the stunned and bound form of his father's one time friend and then later betrayer Peter Pettigrew, ready and waiting to clear Sirius' name.

Harry surveyed them coldly, feeling no sense of victory or relief at the sight, for although the battle had been won, the cost had been high. Too high. Harry thought back to Albus Dumbledore's sudden death six months before and as he did his eyes fell on the still form of Lucius Malfoy; dead from a curse meant for his Death Eater son. Too bad it didn't save him Harry thought as his eyes travelled the few feet to where his one time nemesis lay, hand outstretched to his father, a look of desperation and pain etched onto his pale face. 

Harry looked away and his eyes fell on the motionless forms of some of his other classmates who had come along with Harry and Ginny to celebrate the end of their exams. Seamus Finnegan, Dennis Creevey and Elizabeth Price from Gryffindor he knew of course, as well as several members of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team and others he thought he recognised, were all visible from where he stood, along with the numerous other patrons who had been caught in the cross fire of the surprise attack. How many might actually still be alive Harry couldn't tell and didn't have time to check, as the sound of approaching shouts and running footsteps attested to, reminding him of the next and final task that he had set himself. Looking out of what used to be a window he could see several distinct forms, his godfather and Remus Lupin amongst them, moving swiftly in his direction, alerted no doubt by the explosion. With one last glance back down to where Ginny still lay peacefully Harry picked his wand up from where he had left it, steeled his expression into one of neutrality and Dissapperated with a pop, mere seconds before the rescue party frantically burst onto the scene.

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Bursting through the door of the Three Broomsticks wand in hand, Sirius Black stumbled over the remains of a chair and froze.

"Oh God"

Moving further into the room to allow the others behind him to enter he braced a hand against the wall to steady himself as his eyes began frantically searching the room for any sign of his godson. Spying a shock of red hair lying across the rubble a few feet away he felt the icy feeling that had settled in the pit of his stomach the moment the explosion had sounded all the way up at the castle solidify and he staggered the few paces across the room and dropped to his knees beside the still figure, nausea rising in the back of his throat. 

"Holy….God…." he reached out his hand and gently brushed it across the girl's forehead, nearly snatching it back compulsively when he felt the coldness of her skin. "Ginny".

Sweeping his eyes across her body, barely noticing the cloak that covered her his gaze fell on the four still forms lying next to her. _"Fuck"_ Sirius shot to his feet.

"Remus! Snape!" His frantic shouts alerted his colleagues from where they had been checking some of the other bodies scattered around the room for signs of life and they carefully made their way over to him as he reached the fallen figures of the most hated and feared dark wizards.

"Dear Lord" Remus' quiet exclamation barely registered with Sirius as the three of them stared disbelievingly down at the still forms lying at their feet.

"Are they…?" He broke off and it was Severus Snape who knelt down carefully to check the bodies. He straightened slowly and Sirius noticed that the man's face was even paler than usual and when he spoke his voice was hoarse.

"Dead" he said his shock showing in his voice. He gestured towards Voldemort and the Malfoys, before turning back to face Sirius. "Pettigrew's alive though, just stunned".

Looking into the man's dark eyes, trying to comprehend what he had just been told, Sirius felt himself sway and took an involuntary step backwards. He felt, rather than saw Remus take a concerned step towards him and then felt surprisingly calm hands grab his shoulders to steady him.

Snape moved off to continue the search of the rest of the room and Sirius turned to face his friend. 

"Moony? Where's Harry?" His words were a plaintive whisper and his friend squeezed his shoulders gently as he shook his head, his face filled with worry.

"I don't know." Suddenly Sirius' temper snapped and he was filled with a desperate anger.

"Well then look dammit! He has to be here somewhere!" He snapped at the other man who quickly released his shoulders as Sirius whirled away to begin frantically searching the room.

They had been searching for what seemed like hours and there was still no sign of black hair and green eyes. Almost as soon as Sirius had begun his search they had been joined by a team of ministry officials and medi – wizards, who had immediately begun to search the rubble for those who were still alive, moving them to St Mungo's for treatment. The dead were left in peace for now whilst the ministry tried to make arrangements for the large number of bodies. Sirius tried not to think about it. The only exceptions had been of course Voldemort and the Malfoys. Where they had been taken Sirius neither knew nor cared but he had seen Snape talking quietly to the Minister of Magic shortly before they had been removed so he knew that they would have been dealt with properly.

"Black!" Sirius paused in his task of moving aside yet another pile of bricks and dust and looked up to see Snape coming towards him holding the black cloth that he vaguely remembered to have been covering Ginny. He stood up to berate the man for moving it when Snape's next words stopped him cold.

"Isn't this Potter's cloak?" He asked holding the dirty material out towards him. Sirius took it, carefully examining it to see that yes, it was in fact Harry's cloak, finding the initials HP which had been carefully stitched inside the hood by a delicate feminine hand he remembered Harry telling him with pride to have been Ginny's.

Clutching the material to his chest like a lifeline, Sirius felt the desperation filling him go up a notch and he whirled round.

"Harry!" He called into the dust and rubble. "Harry! Are you here? Can you here me?" He paused. Nothing answered him apart from the silence of the others as they watched him and the pounding of his own heart.

"Harry!?" He tried again, more desperately, his voice cracking. "Harry! God damn you! Answer me!" He turned again and hit a table with his shin causing him to stumble into the wall. Suddenly Remus was there, once again a hand placed carefully on his shoulder.

"Sirius" Remus' voice was surprisingly calm and the pressure with which he gripped his friends' shoulder increased. "We've looked. He's not here Padfoot. He's not here." Sirius felt tears fill his eyes as he thought of the boy he'd sworn to protect.

"Well then where is he Remus hey? Where the fuck is he?"

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Appearing soundlessly behind a row of large, green conifers Harry peered through the branches and was pleased to discover that he had managed to land in his desired spot. He had only travelled through this area once or twice with the Dursley's many years ago now and he hadn't been sure whether he would be able to remember it accurately enough. However, not having been anywhere else outside of known wizarding areas, that he could remember anyway, he had had few other options and he couldn't risk anyone from the wizarding world seeing him. Trying to collect his thoughts he sat and watched the cars zipping by on the A14 in front of him, on their way to Cambridge, all blissfully unaware both of the young man sitting quietly behind the trees and the world - saving acts he had just committed. 

Taking a few deep breaths to steady himself Harry thought about what he was about to do. He had it all planned perfectly. After all he'd given the idea a lot of thought over the last year or so. For a brief second he felt a pang of regret for those he was leaving behind and a twinge of shame that he was taking what would probably be considered the easy way out. But then…. everyone else had someone, Ron and Hermione had each other, Sirius had Lupin to look after him and even Snape now had the school to keep him occupied, though that last thought still made Harry snort slightly in disbelief - how a former Death Eater could become the headmaster of the world's most prominent wizarding school he would never know, though he supposed it hadn't helped that Professor McGonagall had been adamant that she didn't want the responsibility. He sighed. His friends, he corrected himself, his _family_, would be all right, he was sure of it. He wondered briefly if they would look for him, but as soon as he thought that and imagined their reactions to the scene he had left behind in Hogsmeade, Ginny's still face surfaced in front of his eyes and he knew he was doing the right thing. He had lost so much over the last three years, seen and done more than any person could be expected to do and remain unscarred, he certainly hadn't and now that Voldemort had finally been defeated Harry didn't even know if he had a purpose anymore.

With that thought in mind Harry took a deep breath, stepped out from behind the bushes and moved closer towards the edge of the busy road, wand still tightly clutched in his right hand and an expression of fierce determination etched onto his face. Watching the traffic he waited for the right moment and when it came he held his wand out pointing toward his own chest and uttered one word _'Obliverate'_, whilst simultaneously stepping out in front of the speeding white ford transit van. His jumbled mind registered a loud squeal of tires a brief second before everything faded to black. 

*****TO BE CONTINUED******


	2. Chapter One

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Author's note:

Ok, I have made a few alterations; mainly to the time line amongst others; to this chapter and re posted it. I have also managed to correct the spelling of Lucius in the Prologue. Sorry about that, I blame my beta (ignoring the fact that I don't actually have one J ) Thanks once again to all the reviewers for these first two parts.  

Chapter One.

_Eight years later…._

Detective Inspector Harry James carefully lowered himself into his favourite chair with a groan and a soft sigh and picked up his glass of scotch from where he had temporarily set it on his coffee table before crossing the room to close his curtains against the orange glare from the streetlight outside the window. Kicking off his shoes he lifted his aching feet to set them on the table when he noticed the small red light on his answering machine blinking and reached out a hand to press the button; taking a sip of his drink while he waited for the mechanical and for some strange reason he had yet to work out, American accented, female voice to inform him that he had "One new message. Received today at twenty one oh four hundred hours."

There was a quiet beep and then Harry heard his girlfriend's angry voice fill the room. He cringed, suddenly remembering that he had promised to phone her.

"Harry? It's Elizabeth. Are you there?" There was a pause, followed by a sigh. "Fine. Ok, look, I didn't want to do this with a message but as you're no doubt still out working like some bloody obsessive……" Another sigh. "I'm sorry Harry but I don't think that this is working. I can't keep trying to compete with you're job and there's this guy at work, Mike….." She trailed off. "So, anyway. I'm sorry but it's…it's for the best. Just….take care of yourself. Ok?" 

Another small beep then silence. 

Harry sat staring absently at his answering machine and wondered if maybe he should be more bothered by this turn of events before quietly acknowledging that perhaps it wasn't wholly unexpected. He raised his glass to his lips and drained it in a gulp, gasping slightly as the burning liquid hit the back of his throat. _Another one bites the dust_ he thought wryly to himself re-filling his glass from the bottle of Glenfiddich that he'd sat by the side of his chair so it would be near at hand. He lifted the glass in a silent salute before draining it again and glanced around his sparse sitting room. Elizabeth was the third in six months, which he thought, must be a record. At least she had left a message; as he picked up the bottle once more his now slightly fuzzy mind reminded him that Kate had sent a friend with a note.

As he ran Elizabeth's message over again in his head, had she ever mentioned a Mike before? Harry tried to remember why he'd decided that his attempts at relationships were worth the trouble, when they always seemed to fail so spectacularly. Maybe it was the fact that his small flat always seemed so much more cold and lonely when he was on his own; or maybe it was because a warm body pressed against his own during the long nights helped keep away the nightmares of flashing lights, loud bangs and terrified screams that he could never remember clearly when he woke sweating and shaking, but which still left him with feelings of terror and despair firmly lodged in the pit of his stomach. Maybe it was both. But he was on his own once again now and tonight all he had for company was the bottle of whisky, half a cold 'veggie supreme' pizza he'd had delivered from Dominoe's last night – when he'd forgotten to meet Elizabeth for dinner – and the television.

Running his hand through his short, dark hair, thereby making it stick up even worse than usual, he dished out the remote control from where it seemed to be perpetually lodged between the cushion and the side of the chair and switched on the TV. As he did so he pressed the once more re-filled glass to his forehead in a futile attempt to sooth the burning ache that never seemed to go away; which was always worse when he was tired and which seemed to emanate from the strange lightening bolt shaped scar.

Harry wasn't sure when or where he had got the scar but he had always assumed that it must have been in the accident where he had also lost his memory. When he had awoken scared and confused in Cambridge's Addenbrookes hospital the doctors had told him, according to the eye-witness reports, that he had simply stepped off the grass verge and straight into the path of a van. When the emergency services had reached him, he had had no form of identification or anything else on him apart from a broken stick clutched in his right hand and a torn piece of paper with _Harry James_ written on it, which they'd taken to be his name, in his left. Despite hours of questioning and prodding however, Harry, had not been able to say why he had done such a thing or even what he might have been doing on the side of the road in the first place as could not remember anything from before he'd woken up in that hospital room eight years ago now, not his age, not if he had got any family or friends – he assumed not as no-one had ever come looking for him and the police had found no missing persons reports – nothing. After six months of trying everything they could think of, with no success the doctors had sent him away with the dubious reassurance that he _could _get his memories back any day and, as they had estimated that he was about seventeen years old, the prospectus of the local college and the address of a hostel.

Shortly afterwards, Harry had got a job in a local supermarket, put himself through night school and miraculously, university, before joining the police and moving to Oxford. Harry was naturally good at his job; so good in fact that he had just been promoted to DI after only four years, a remarkable achievement but he knew he had a tendency to get caught up in whichever case he was working on and his personal life suffered for it. 

The theme music for the local news caught his attention and Harry tried to focus his gaze on the television where the news reader was talking, looking appropriately sombre.

"Tonight's main story. Early this morning a man's body was found just outside of the Forest Hill area in South Oxfordshire. The man, said to be in his early twenties was discovered on the side of the B4027 by a local resident out walking her dog. Police sources say that so far no identification of the body has been possible but that a murder investigation is currently underway and so far the police are denying that there is any connection to the three other murders of two men and one woman that have occurred in the area during the last two months. "

Harry groaned and switched the TV off again, he had spent all day working on the case in question, since he had received the phone call about the discovery at 6:15 that morning and they were still no closer to working out who the man was. They only thing they could be certain of was the fact that the four murders the news had mentioned were, indeed connected. All the bodies bore the same mark, gruesomely etched onto the chest. A skull, with what appeared to Harry to be a snake coming out of its mouth. Harry sighed suddenly exhausted and pinching the bridge of his nose closed his eyes. He only meant to rest a moment but when he opened his eyes again it was to find sunlight creeping into the room through the small gap in the closed curtains.

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Scowling fiercely Severus Snape shuffled through the numerous rolls of parchment that were currently littering his desk and tried to remember again why he had agreed to take the position of Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizadry in the first place. Grumbling silently to himself he lifted his wand to incinerate the latest letter from the Ministry of Magic asking his opinion on the idea of introducing speed limits for broomsticks – a preposterously stupid idea – but before he could even open his mouth to voice the necessary incantation a shimmering silver mist appeared in front of his desk, his own addition to the various charms in place in the immediate vicinity of the office, announcing the arrival of a visitor to his office.

Glancing up he could not prevent his scowl from deepening even further when the mist showed him the image of Sirius Black giving the current password – "Monkswood" – to the stone gargoyle which still guarded the staircase leading up to his office. Fixing his most threatening glare on the door he waited for the sharp knock, barking a curt "Come in Black!" when it sounded.

The door opened slowly to admit an extremely grim and agitated looking Sirius who crossed the room in three long strides and thrust his arm out brandishing copies of several newspapers towards Snape. 

"Read the papers this morning?" he asked.

" No." Snape answered through gritted teeth, taking the proffered papers from Sirius who immediately threw himself, uninvited, into one of the uncomfortable wooden chairs facing Snape's desk. Ignoring both the other man and his own murderous impulses for the time being Snape turned his attention to the front page of the Daily Prophet and blanched slightly as his eyes settled on the glaring headline.

_3 GO MISSING_

**_Fears of Dark Activity._**

_Reporter: Mavis Phillips._

"Yesterday the Daily Prophet received reports that a further three wizards seemingly vanished into thina ir late Monday evening and haven't been heard from since. The three in question, who cannot be named have no obvious personal connections, only that they are all muggle-born wizards who studied at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizadry at the same time as the still missing and presumed dead Harry Potter….." 

Snape glanced briefly up at Sirius but the other man's face was blank of all emotion, though his knuckles were white where his hands were gripping the arms of the chair. Snape turned back to the paper.

"…..These are the latest in an increasing series of mysterious disappearances of muggle-born witches and wizards the likes of which haven't been in since He-who-mustt-not-be-named was at the height of his powers over eight years ago.,,,"

Having read enough Snape threw the Prophet aside to see that the other papers Sirius had given him were all Muggle ones and that they all bore similar headlines. He glanced through them.

"MYSTERIOUS BODY FOUND IN WOODS" 

**_"UNIDENTIFIED MAN DISCOVERED ON ROADSIDE"_**

**_"PUBLIC FEAR GROWS AS POLICE INVESTIGATE FOURTH MURDER IN TWO MONTHS"_******

Snape sighed and rubbed a hand over his eyes slumping back in his chair. "Bugger." 

"It's getting worse. The muggles are noticing." Sirius' voice was quiet.

"I know. I can read Black". Snape snapped, for once unfairly taking his increasing bad mood out on Sirius. He waited for a retort and was surprised when none was forthcoming. He sighed again. "I think they're supposed to though." He mused.

"What do you mean?" Snape shrugged.

"I'm not sure yet. Have you managed to find out anything useful?"

Sirius looked up. " Not much, no. I did manage to follow Crabbe to an abandoned building last night but he must have apparated or used a port key because when I finally managed to get inside there was no sign of anyone and no-one came back either. He wasn't the only one to go there though, I picked up five different scents."

Snape allowed his lip to curl up in distaste at the reminder of Sirius' animagus form, he had never been overly fond of dogs. The fact that this man could turn into one only managed to heighten his dislike even further.

"You should go back tonight. See if you can find out where they're going."

"I'd planned to." 

 There was a moment of silence and then Sirius cleared his throat,

"Do you think…." He paused again and Snape could see he was trying to collect his thoughts. "Do you think there's anything in what the Prophet says? The connection to Harry I mean?"

 There was an uncomfortable pause. Through the long years of the war leading up to the final defeat of Voldemort and the imprisonment or death of many of the most prominent Death Eaters the two men had managed to develop a somewhat cordial working relationship. Despite this though neither of them had ever been able to completely let go of their mutual animosity forged over decades; their stilted conversations never usually made it past business and occasionally forced pleasantries and it made those odd occasions such as this one all that more difficult for Snape, not known as the most sympathetic of souls in normal circumstances, who now stared at Sirius thoughtfully for several moments whilst he tried to think of what he could possibly say that he, and others, had not already said to Sirius countless times since Harry Potter's simultaneous victory and consequent mysterious disappearance.

" I don't think so. Coincidence." Sirius grunted, his eyes not meeting Snape's.

"Look, Black. It's been eight years. We would have heard something….there would have been a sighting by now if…." He trailed off as Sirius quickly got to his feet, scraping his chair back noisily.

"I should go. I told Remus I'd drop in on him before I went out again. I'll bring you a report as soon as I know more." With that he turned on his heel and left the office. Snape watched him go without a word. He sighed. In the eight years since Potter's disappearance he had had to watch the man go from a loving, jovial personality into little more than a walking, talking, barely breathing shell and as much as he may still dislike the man he could not help but be bothered by it. If it was left up to him and him alone, he would take the animagus away from any kind of physical or surveillance work, but Sirius was adamant that he wanted to keep battling any remaining dark forces and Snape was sure that it was only the other man's conviction that Harry was being held somewhere and that one day he would find him that kept Sirius alive from one day to the next. As much as Snape may not like the man, even he could not bring himself to take that away.

He turned back to the papers on his desk. "Bloody Potter."

TO BE CONTINUED**********


	3. Chapter Two

Disclaimer: Please see part one, I do not own anything. 

Author's note: DCI Anderton is very loosely based on Andy Dalziel of 'Dalziel and Pascoe' fame, where much deserved credit belongs to the talented Reginald Hill.

This chapter is slightly shorter than expected as it should technically be pegged onto the end of chapter one; by the way, please note time-line alterations, it's still 2005 but November instead of September.

Thanks again to all the reviewers…hope you enjoy this.

Harry was more than fed up. It was currently nine o clock in the morning and he had been at work for an hour, after waking up at six thirty again but this time with a stiff neck from falling asleep in his chair. His third cup of coffee had now gone cold and he was still no further forward on the case of the nameless murder victim than he had been when he left to go home the night before. Sitting stiffly in the green directors chair he had drawn up to the fold up desk he had been assigned in the chilly town hall they were currently using for an incident room he found himself callously wishing the man could have waited a bit and been murdered in July instead of the last week in November. 

"Mr James? Sir?"

Harry looked up from the pathology report he was slowly leafing through and tried to smile at the rather nervous looking young man slowly shifting from foot to foot in front of his, surprisingly untidy, desk.

"Yes Clive?" Harry managed successfully to fight the urge to tell the younger man to stand still.

"The DCI wants to see you sir." Harry sighed.

"OK, I'll be there in a minute." He waved a hand dismissively at the other man and turned back to the report taking a sip from his cold coffee as he did so. It was only after he had replaced the cup back down on the brown ring now stained onto the top of the desk that he realised the man was still shifting in front of him. He looked back up, raising an eyebrow in question. Clive cleared his throat and glanced nervously over his shoulder as if expecting to see the DCI or a hungry lion bearing down on him. Harry rolled his eyes. Had he ever been that green?

"Er.. sorry sir, but he said he wanted to see you….well, now sir." Sighing again Harry nodded and closed the pathology report with a snap before taking a final large swig of his coffee and standing up. Slipping his black jacket on over his jumper he picked up the file and nodded at the young man as he swept past making his way for the small office at the other end of the hall.

He knocked briefly on the Perspex window making it rattle slightly and turned the handle, stepping quickly inside the surprisingly warm room and closing the door firmly behind him. Glancing around Harry noticed with a slight frown the small fan heater humming away happily in the corner. Typical. 

"Ah Harry lad, sit down, sit down. Tell me what you've got."

Stepping over to the desk Harry sat down in one of the plastic chairs and faced his boss. DCI Peter Anderton was a short, stocky, brusque man of approximately 55. Native to Yorkshire he had relocated to Oxford in his late twenties when he had got married and had stayed ever since despite the failure of said marriage fifteen years ago now. Harry knew all this and more from the discussions they had had in the pub whilst partaking in post-conviction drinks. The DCI had a habit of becoming rather chatty when inebriated and he and Harry had developed a friendship of sorts. Today though, the DCI was all seriousness, his chin resting on his steepled fingers, elbows propped up on the edge of his desk. He was surveying Harry intently, waiting for him to begin speaking. Harry shifted slightly trying to get more comfortable.

"I've been going through the pathology report." He told him, holding up the file in question.

"And?"  

"Just as we thought. No clear cause of death. No evidence of asphyxiation, or strangulation. No signs of cardiac arrest or head trauma. No marks anywhere on the body save for the symbol etched onto the chest, which was done after death, same as the others." Harry sighed, shrugging. "According to the pathologist it's as though he simply stopped functioning."

Anderton's usual frown increased. "Do we know anything?"

"We know that the time of death has been confirmed as somewhere between six and ten Monday evening and the body was moved to where it was found, afterwards."

"Well that's useful as always. Thank you Harry." The sarcasm was thick and Harry grimaced slightly, dropping the file onto the desk in front of him and leaning back in his chair.

"All we got." He said with a shrug.

"Ah well, that's where you wrong my lad" Harry raised his eyebrows. Anderton stood up and moved over to where he had a map of Forest Hill pinned to a board on the wall, gesturing for Harry to join him. "This" he said, pointing to a road with a red pin next to it. "Is where our mystery man was found yesterday morning. Now, this morning, when you were still nicely tucked up in bed, we had a phone call from a man who said he saw a group of figures in dark cloaks of some sort going into the woods here" He pointed to a second pin two inches, or ten miles, from the first one "at approximately five thirty on Monday evening, on his way home from work."

Harry frowned/ "Didn't we have a similar report two months ago after the first murder?" 

Anderton glanced at him. "We did, yes. Nice to know you do pay attention." Harry scowled slightly but ignored the familiar jibe.

"Nothing came of it though. We searched the area and nothing was found. Not even any tracks or footprints." He said instead.

"Hmmm…yes which means we have nothing to go on. We have no evidence to lead us to this…cult so you need to go out and find some."

"Sir?" Harry was rather unsure as to how he was expected to find clues that simply did not exist.

"House to house Harry." Anderton told him, as though it should have been perfectly obvious in the first place. Harry groaned, he hated house-to-house enquiries. They hardly ever turned up anything useful and he always ended up baby-sitting some new and over eager detective constable. As though reading his mind, Anderton looked thoughtful for a moment before turning to Harry with a slightly disturbing gleam in his eye.

"You can take Clive"

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Moving silently the large black dog circled around the outside of the derelict warehouse before cautiously entering through the glassless window he had found the night before. Dropping down inside with a soft thus the dog paused quietly, extending his senses to search for any signs of other life forms within the building. Finding none the dog moved further into the room where with a soft pop he disappeared to be replaced by a thin, gaunt looking man with shoulder length black hair. 

Pulling his wand from a long pocket hidden in the inside of his black winter cloak Sirius whispered _'Lumos'_ and held the now faintly glowing object in front of him in order to better survey the room. The area he was standing in was almost exactly how he remembered it from the previous night; the bare concrete floor was covered with a scattering of bits of straw and wood with a heavy coating of dust. There were several sets of footprints leading from the door opposite into the centre of the room where Sirius saw the only new addition to the room, a pile of six or seven red bricks. Smirking Sirius moved quickly over to the pile and crouched down examining them as closely as he could, without actually touching them. If he was right, and he strongly suspected that he was, these bricks would lead him straight to the site of the next in the long string of murders. He sat back on his heals still looking at the bricks and tried to decide on the best course of action. Probably the most sensible plan would be to head back to Snape, report what he had found and then come up with a plan together, more tempting though was the desire to take one of the port-keys now and to try to solve this before he missed his chance. The decision was taken from him though as his sensitive ears suddenly picked up the sound of someone trying to open the door. There was now nothing for it; cursing silently Sirius reached out and grabbed hold of the topmost brick. He felt the familiar jerk at his naval before the floor moved from under him and he was spinning away into darkness.

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On reflection, Harry decided, it had probably been one of the most trying days of his life, that he could remember of course. After being told of his bosses' evil and quite frankly sadistic plan to send him on house to house, Harry had been shunted quickly and efficiently from the small, temporary office only to find Clive, all nervous smiles and perpetual fidgeting, waiting for him huddled in a thick beige duffle coat of all things and holding Harry's car keys. Harry had snatched the keys with a grunt, picked up his mobile phone from his desk, where he generally preferred to leave it and left the hall without looking back to check whether the other man was following him or not. Unfortunately for Harry he had been and the day had just got progressively worse from there. Countless uneventful and pointless hours had now passed and with the time just ticking over to six o'clock Harry was finally on his way home after having relieved himself of 'Bloody Clive', as he had taken to referring to the younger man, outside of his Headington flat scant minutes before.

Being the middle of winter it was already well past dusk as Harry slowly made his way down Headington Hill behind the number 7A bus which he could see was, as always, full of university students. Cursing at the traffic lights who had the audacity to turn to red just after the bus had passed successfully through, Harry stopped rather a bit too quickly, the front wheels of his new, silver Toyota Avensis just inching over the white line and waited. Drumming his fingers on his steering wheel in time to the latest, pitiful offering from Geri Halliwell, who should have really quit while she was behind in his opinion, Harry glanced to his left and gazed absently out over the wide expanse of South Park that was visible behind the wrought iron railings.

It was only after a moment that Harry realized that the black shadows he was looking at were not the bushes his tired mind had at first assumed but that they were, in fact the forms of several people moving slowly across the grass and wearing, Harry swore, what looked like long black cloaks. Startled suddenly by the blaring of a car horn behind him Harry realized the lights had finally turned to green but instead of continuing straight ahead towards his own flat in St Clements he instead made a quick right into Morrell Avenue and receiving another horn for his troubles. Pulling over quickly Harry his engine off and fixed his eyes back on the park. Finding the figures still moving steadily away from him he quickly left the car and entered the park himself, before his brain could talk him out of it.

To Be Continued************


	4. Chapter Three

Disclaimer: See Prologue, I own nothing!!!

Author's notes: Sorry this has taken so long, and is quite short, but I'm opening a new business and it's taking quite a lot of work. We'll be open next week though so things should settle down. Thanks to ALL the reviewers for the previous chapters: Nexus, Nicky, Schulyr, char-2-the-lotte, Samantha Black, Mrs. Moony, Elektra, AllAboutMe, cedar, evil sapple pie, Otaku freak, Alyssa, Vanne. I really appreciate all your comments.

Still un-beta'd so sorry in advance for errors. Hope you all enjoy this.

His feet slamming into the ground and causing him to stumble slightly Sirius appeared silently behind a row of tall trees. Glancing quickly around him in the darkness his sharp eyes told him that he had appeared on the edge of what looked to be a vast grassy park of some description. It rose steadily up and away both in front of him and to the left and he could just make out the tall forms of trees lining the edges. Dropping the brick he was still holding in his right hand onto the ground with a soft thud, he looked around for somewhere to hide and saw a road a little ways off to his right and then, finally, behind him some more bushes in front of a low stone wall. He moved silently away from where he had been standing to survey his surroundings and tried to seclude himself as best as he could in the shadows cast between the bushes and the wall and waited, listening to the steady rumble of the traffic travelling along the road behind him, on the other side of the wall. He did not have long to wait however and moments after he had hidden himself there was a soft pop quickly followed by a muttered curse and looking around Sirius saw a man appear where he had done so only moments before, also clutching a single red brick. Glancing around, the man's gaze fell on the discarded brick and he looked at it curiously for a moment before casting around again clearly looking for something. Brow furrowing the man stared into the darkness for a long moment before he shrugged absently and stepped aside just in time to avoid being hit by the second man who appeared suddenly out of the air next to him.

"Where's Paul?" He asked as soon as he had regained his footing. The first man shrugged.

"I haven't seen him. There's a key here though" He pointed to the brick " He must have gone on without waiting." The second man grunted.

"Bloody typical. One of these days.." He was cut off by the simultaneous arrival of three more men who stumbled into each other as they appeared. The first man spoke again.

"Right. Lets get going shall we…..haven't got all night to hang around this dump."

Still waiting quietly in his hiding place amongst the bushes Sirius watched intently as the five men began to trudge slowly up the hill and across the park away from him until, after a long moment they reached a small cluster of trees standing approximately half way up the grassy slope. Halting, they spread out forming a loose kind of circle around the largest of the trees and then paused looking around, seemingly waiting for something.

With an almost indiscernible pop Sirius was quickly replaced by the form a large black dog and stealthily moved out from behind the bushes and was about to try to edge closer to the group when the unmistakable sound of a car door opening and closing reached his sensitive ears. Turning his head to look in the direction of the road his stomach dropped as his eyes picked out the tall figure of a man stepping quickly away from a haphazardly parked car and heading towards the park and the small gate visible in the iron railings. Pushing the gate open the man stepped through the small gap and then closed it again as gently as he could. Remaining still Sirius continued watching as the man began to move slowly, but purposefully across the park and straight towards the group of undoubtedly dark wizards.

Growling softly, Sirius had no choice but to follow the foolish muggle.

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"This has got to be one of the stupidest things you've ever done you great prat. Could've been at home now, nice cup of tea, bit of telly but nooo just had to stop and go wondering across a dark park, freezing you're bollocks off didn't you?"

Moving as quietly as he could across the grass Harry found himself disturbed by two things. First of all was the fact that he was talking to himself, muttering almost inaudibly under his breath but talking nonetheless; the second was the fact that despite the conversation with his clearly more intelligent inner voice, he was still walking across the park and towards what had to be a group of highly dangerous people. He shook his head but kept going and moments later Harry was as close to the group of dark figures gathered around the trees as he thought he should get and stopping at what he hoped was a safe distance away he glanced around quickly looking for somewhere to hide. Seeing a large tree stump several paces to his left he moved as swiftly as he was able to do so in the darkness and crouched down behind it, feeling grateful for his ebony hair that would enable him to blend more easily into the shadows. Curling himself up as small as was possible for his six foot frame to get he turned his attention back to the group and blinked; then rubbed at his eyes, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. Where there had moments before been only five black cloaked figures there now appeared to be seven. Harry looked around quickly and seeing no other figures approaching turned back to the group and stared trying to work out where the other two had materialised from. He was still trying to work it out moments later when one of the figures lifted an arm and the terrible sound of a pained and terrified screams ripped through the quiet darkness of the night, startling Harry and almost making him lose his balance.

Eyes widening in horror Harry felt the blood drain from his face as he watched one of the figures convulsing madly for what seemed like hours but which was in reality mere seconds, before dropping like a lead weight to the ground. The soft thud as the person fell to the grass was accompanied by the unmistakable sound of laughter. Anger surging through him, intermingling with the cold fear already present Harry rose to his feet, stepping out from behind the stump as he did so.

Thinking of nothing but the screaming body Harry opened his mouth to shout, though he wasn't sure what, when suddenly his path was blocked by the figure of an enormous black dog.

Sensing a quick movement off from the side of him Sirius had turned his head just in time to see the muggle he had been following step out from behind his tree stump hiding place thus revealing himself to the group by the trees. Wishing he could curse properly as a dog and desperately hoping that he would be able to save at least one innocent life tonight he threw himself in front of the man and began to advance quickly towards him growling and snarling as fiercely as he could, hoping to scare him away.

The screaming abruptly cut off and as it did so he heard voices shouting from behind him and he knew that they had been seen. He did not turn around though and although he could not see the muggle's face clearly in the shadows surrounding them Sirius felt a certain amount of relief and satisfaction as the smell of fear emanating from the person increased significantly.

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Startled, Harry was sure he felt his heart stop briefly as the enormous dog growled at him with increasingly ferocity. He took another step backward and then hearing a shout looked up briefly only to see he that the figures near the trees had spotted them, they now seemed to be pointing straight at him.

" Shit" He swore "Stupid bloody dog."

Thinking quickly he weighed up his options as he took another step back away from both the dog and the shouting figures and was preparing to turn and run when his was foot caught on a raised tree root and he fell over backwards, hitting the side of his head harshly on the sharp stump as he went down. Blinking furiously as his vision swam he cleared his eyes just in time to see a flash of bright white light and then Harry felt something rush through the air straight past his face and hit the tree bark at his side with a resounding crack, sending shards flying in all directions.

He winced at the pain in his head and pressed a hand to his temple where he could feel the blood under his fingers, running down the side of his face. Frantically, Harry looked around for the dog but instead only saw yet another man standing with his back to him pointing and shouting in the direction of the advancing figures. There was another flash of light and a bang and then confused and frightened Harry was stumbling up onto his feet, still clutching his head and half running, half stumbling back in the direction of his car. Not giving a second thought to the stranger he had left behind holding off his pursuers.

Breathing a small sigh of relief Sirius had managed to stun a third wizard at the same time that he heard the muggle behind him stumble to his feet and take off, running back down the hill to safety. Turning, he leapt nimbly over the stump and crouched down behind it, using it as a shield. Throwing off random curses and hexes he watched until the man was safely back at his car before he took a deep calming breath and apparated away, instinctively picking up the small leather wallet resting by his foot as he did so.

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Remus Lupin had been sitting quietly in his office for over an hour, carefully marking his fifth year's essays when there was a loud bang and his office door was flung open, banging against the wall, to admit an extremely agitated looking Sirius Black. Looking up quickly Remus was alarmed to see that his long-time friend was pale and sweating and that his hands trembling from around a small black object that he was clutching so tightly in his white knuckled fingers that it was impossible for Remus to make out what it was. Concentrating on his friend he saw that Sirius was now pacing frantically backwards and forwards in front of his desk and talking so rapidly that Remus could only make out snatches of what he was saying. Pushing his chair back he stood quickly and moved around his desk to stand in front of the other man and stopping his pacing. Reaching out cautiously he placed what he hoped were claming hands on his friend's shoulders and looked into his wild and desperate light blue eyes, his own brow creasing with equal parts worry and confusion.

"Sirius! Calm down and tell me what's the matter."

Sirius took a deep and unsteady breath and his voice trembled when he spoke.

"I was. in this park, spying….they were torturing this man and I saw this…this muggle watching so I ..I tried to scare him away, growling you know? And I, I did, he ran off but he dropped this" He held up the object he was still clutching in his hand and Remus saw that it was actually a small black, leather wallet, the kind muggles had. He reached out a hand and took it, examining it carefully as Sirius continued to speak.

"And…I looked in it and Oh God Remus….It's him. It's him"

"Who?" There was a pause and Remus felt something heavy and ice cold drop inside him, his stomach turn over and anticipation surged through his veins almost making him dizzy in its intensity.

"Harry"

Remus just stared at his friend and then looked back down at the seemingly innocuous wallet he was still holding. With now trembling fingers he slowly opened the small leather holder and his eyes fell on the muggle driving licence held behind the small plastic screen; it's picture staring innocently up at him with a pair of unmistakable green eyes.

Drawing in a sharp gasp of breath Remus reached out a hand to feel for the edge of his desk and sat down heavily on top of his fifth year essays still staring at the wallet. 

TO BE CONTINUED*********


	5. Chapter Four

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all things related belong to JK Rowling and her affiliates, not me.

Author's note: Thanks once again to all of my FABULOUS reviewers, I really do appreciate and love you all !!! :0)

Here is the next part, sorry for the delay but I do hope you enjoy. I typed this up rather quickly and haven't checked it properly and it's still un beta' so there may be mistakes for which I apologise but I wanted to get it out. 

Chapter 4:

The first thing Harry noticed when he returned to consciousness the morning following his little sojourn in the park was the dull throbbing that seemed to be emanating from the side of his head. Cautiously, he used his arms to push himself up into a sitting position resting against his wooden headboard and groaned softly. Reaching his hand up he gingerly pressed his fingertips to his temple feeling the ridges of a small cut and a bump just under his hairline. Wincing, he cautiously opened his eyes and squinted against the bright winter sunlight streaming through the window, past the curtains he had been too shaken to close the night before. Looking around his eyes rested on the clock on the bedside table and he swore loudly at the LED display blinking innocently up at him and telling him that it was 10:23am. Harry was very, very late for work.

Scrambling across his bed as quickly as his stiff limbs would allow him to, he stumbled across the room and into the shower, managing to wash, dress and throw some ibuprofen down his throat in record time, slamming out of the door to his flat as the clock clicked over to 10:44. Settling into the drivers seat of his car and started the engine. He was still let but at least he would now smell nice while the DCI was busy ripping strips off him.

Sure enough when Harry arrived out of breath in the incident room he was immediately summoned into Anderton's small office by a shouted, or rather more accurately bellowed; "Inspector James! Get in here!" that occurred so immediately upon Harry's stepping through the door that Harry suspected his superior to have rigged up some kind of surveillance system. Either that or he had simply seen his wayward inspector arrive through the window that looked out onto the car park. 

Wincing, as the pounding in his head, that had increased with the shouting and now seemed to be doubling with every step he took, Harry shuffled across to the door and took a deep steadying breath before knocking twice, gingerly and stepping inside the warm room.

Anderton was indeed standing at the window facing the car park, his back to Harry, his hands deep in his pockets. Not daring to sit down uninvited Harry shifted forward slightly, closer to the desk and cleared his throat nervously.

"Um…Sir?" He asked.

"I expect you've got a nice excuse worked out to explain your lateness this morning haven't you Harry my lad?"

"Uh..well, sort of." Harry began hesitantly. "You see I sort of, well I got into a spot of bother yesterday on my way home and I well, I overslept. Sir"

Anderton turned around to fix Harry with a stern glare that quickly melted to one of concern as he took in both Harry's dishevelled appearance and the purple and black swelling that marred his inspector's pale face.

"Shit Harry!" He exclaimed, clearly startled. " What the hell happened to you? Are you all right?" Anderton's booming voice seemed to echo around the inside of his head and Harry winced once more, gasping involuntarily at the new wave of pain radiating from his left temple. He closed his eyes and pressed a hand to the side of his head, grimacing as he tried to will the steady throbbing away.

"You should sit down."

Harry jumped at the sound of the new voice, though the words were spoken softly. Startled he opened his eyes and turned his head slightly to the right to see a man of about forty-five sitting calmly of the uncomfortable plastic chairs placed in front of Anderton's desk. He noticed the man was thin and pale, almost gaunt looking, though his face was open and friendly. He had light brown hair streaked liberally through with flashes of silver grey. His hazel eyes were warm as he looked at Harry with concern and he was gesturing towards the second, empty chair.

Smiling slightly at the stranger, Harry decided that it was probably best not to nod at him in greeting and instead settled himself into the proffered chair with a relieved sigh and looked back towards his boss, questioningly. 

Anderton was now also seated behind his desk and was studying Harry worriedly

"Are you alright?" He asked again.

Harry nodded quickly before wincing as he remembered that he was not supposed to be doing that.

"I'm fine, really. Just a bit of a headache." He answered unconvincingly.

"Hmmm" He could tell that Anderton was clearly not convinced but Harry merely folded his hands neatly in his lap and glanced pointedly at the stranger sitting next to him. Anderton sighed.

"Right, well before you tell me exactly what happened last night" He paused and gave Harry a pointed glare, which the younger man ignored in favour of examining his finger nails. "I should introduce you to Professor Remus Lupin." He nodded in the vague direction of the other man but kept his eyes fixed on Harry. "Professor Lupin is a leading expert on cults and cult activity and has kindly agreed to help us on this case." Anderton, finally now turned to Lupin. "Professor, this is Detective Inspector Harry James. He'll be your main liaison while you're here working with us."

Smiling, Professor Lupin turned to Harry and the younger man could not help but notice how the smile seemed to make Lupin look years younger as it warmed up his face.

"Please" He said holding out his hand; "Call me Remus. Professor Lupin makes me feel old and stuffy.

Harry smiled warmly liking this man and shook the offered hand.

"Harry" He replied. "It's good to have you on board Remus."

He was staring; Remus was aware of that fact, though he could not seem to stop doing it, even if he was aware of little else. But then, who could really blame him? He was fairly certain that anyone else finding themselves in the position he was in would be doing the same; even Snape he thought, successfully managing to suppress a snort. He half listened as Anderton went through the pleasantries of who he was supposed to be to the younger man, and continued to observe Harry quietly.

When Sirius had come bursting into his office the night before, clutching that little black wallet, Remus had not even dared to believe what he was being told. He had not even believed it in the hour that he had spent in this office waiting, and if he was perfectly honest with himself he was not altogether sure whether he really believed it now, even with Harry, familiar green eyes and lightening bolt scar, sitting no more than two feet away from him. Observing his best friend's godson, Remus was surprised at how little the boy; well man now, had changed in the last eight years. He was more assured in both the way he talked and how he carried himself yes, but he still had that same air of vulnerability surrounding him, coupled with that misleadingly light frame that had served him so well during his years as a seeker.

"…..Harry James. He'll be your main liaison while you're here working with us."

Remus snapped back to reality to see both Harry and DCI Anderton looking at him expectantly. He smiled slightly and offered his hand.

"Please. Call me Remus. Professor Lupin makes me feel old and stuffy."

Harry smiled and shook his hand. His grip light but firm.

"Harry." He said."It's good to have you on board Remus."

The exchange was brief and polite but as Harry let his hand go and turned his attention back to the older detective Remus felt that ice fill his stomach once again, and he closed his eyes briefly against the sick feeling clenching his heart and sighed. He had hoped that it was all just an act and that as soon as they were on their own Harry would chew him out for looking for him and Remus in turn could scold the younger man for running off and then drag him back to Hogwarts and Sirius, kicking and screaming if necessary. But, it was not to be so for whilst he still had no idea what had happened to Harry in that final battle or why he did know that in those few moments when he had had the younger mans undivided attention and Remus had been able to look him in the eye he had found no sense of recognition in that green gaze. Nothing other than a professional politeness.

Remus groaned inwardly, despair filling him. Harry did not know him and Remus would have to consider that likelihood that the wizarding world's hero did not even know such a world existed in the first place. This was going to be a lot harder than he had first thought. Remus successfully managed to repress another sigh and with conscious effort turned his attention back to the conversation underway between the other two men.

"…..so I followed them and..2 Harry was cut off abruptly as Anderton slammed his hand down on his desk suddenly making his coffee cup jump a few inches to the left.

"Harry" For god's sake; how many times do I have to tell you to stop putting yourself in these positions?" He roared. Remus saw Harry wince but his gaze never wavered. He stared at his superior belligerently.

"And how many times has it paid off?" He returned. Anderton said nothing and Remus could have sworn he saw Harry smirk for a moment and then he continued his story. "Anyway," He said, "They met up with another two, and I couldn't really see what they were doing because I didn't want to get too close." He directed a pointed look at Anderton who grunted but said nothing. "But it looked like they were torturing someone. They were definitely all wearing cloaks though, and hoods covering their faces."

Anderton sighed. "So what happened here then?" He asked waving a hand in the general direction of Harry's bruises.

Harry snorted, " Well, this man was screaming, horribly" He shuddered " And I couldn't just stand there and watch while they killed this guy could I? So I got up and was just going to intervene when this bloody great dog…"

Remus could not help but chuckle at the indignant look on Harry's face as he went on to describe how the dog, who was undoubtedly Sirius, forced him back down the hill and eventually sent him running for his car.

"So what do you think Remus? Any ideas off the top of your head?" Anderton asked suddenly. Remus frowned.

"A couple" He replied." But nothing concrete. I need to get a bit more specific information from Harry here and then do some research. I'll let you know as soon as I've come up with something. Shouldn't take too long." He stood and held pout for Anderton who stood and shook it.

" Thank you Professor." Remus nodded and Anderton turned to the still seated Harry.

"Inspector James" He barked and Harry shot to his feet; Remus noticed him sway slightly and rest a hand on the back of his chair.

"Sir?"

"You will go with Professor Lupin and tell him everything you know. I don't want to see your face again until tomorrow so I suggest you work from home. Understood?" Harry looked unhappy but nodded anyway.

"Yes Sir." He said and then turned to Remus" If you'd like to follow me."

Remus gathered his coat and together they left the office. 

It had been about forty five minutes since they had left the incident room and Remus found himself ensconced in Harry's small and sparse living room surrounded by files, with apologies for the lack of heating and a warm cup of tea clasped in his hands. Harry was currently deeply engrossed in studying his various case notes while Remus continued to surreptitiously study Harry.

"Aha!" The younger man's triumphant exclamation startle Remus out of his reverie and his hands jumped slightly causing some of his hot tea to slosh out over his fingers and he winced.

"Oh" Harry said seeing him and handing him some quickly found tissues. "Sorry about that but I thought I might have lost this." He held up a manila file with a flourish." It's the autopsy report of the last victim. I want you to have a look at the symbol carved onto the body, see if you recognise it ok?" He waited for an answer.

Remus simply nodded and putting his tea down reached for the folder. Opening it he quickly leafed through the pages and then froze as his gaze fell on the picture Harry had indicated. There, carefully etched into the chest in all its glory was the dark mark. Remus swallowed thickly. No one had mentioned this. 

"Remus? Are you all right? Do you recognise it? You're as white as a ghost." Blinking himself back to reality Remus focused his eyes on Harry's concerned face.

"No…I uh." He stammered." Could I use your bathroom?"

Harry's forehead creased into a frown, he looked like he wanted to say something but instead he shrugged, leaning further back into his own chair.

"Sure" He said "Through that door. First on your left."

"Thanks." Remus said, getting to his feet and heading quickly through the door indicated.

Finding the bathroom quickly in the small flat, Remus slipped inside then closed and locked the door behind him. Moving to the sink he ran the cold tap and cupping his hands splashed water onto his face and then stared at his reflection in the mirror above the sink while he tried to collect his thoughts.

He had known that there had been a new spate of murders, everyone knew that but nothing had ever been said about the reappearance of the dark mark. Why had Snape never mentioned it? Then another thought struck him. Did Snape know about it? In either case, it was not good news and he was sure his reaction must have aroused Harry's suspicions. Remus had no idea what he was supposed to say to him now.

Patting his face dry with a towel he found haphazardly tossed on a rail Remus took a deep breath to compose himself and made his way slowly back to the living room. Entering he closed the door quietly behind him before he turned to face Harry; and froze.

The young inspector was standing in the middle of the room a look of fury etched onto his pale face. In one hand he was gripping Remus' black coat, in the other, Remus felt his stomach turn over and he swallowed; in the other Harry was holding up his own, small, black wallet.

"Where" he bit out through gritted teeth, green eyes blazing; "did you get my wallet?"

*****TO BE CONTINUED*******


	6. Chapter Five

Author's note: I am so very sorry that this has taken me such a ridiculously long time to post. I owe huge thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far, and especially to Lara for her suggestions and to Samantha Black for reminding me that there are still people who are patiently waiting for me to pull my finger out :0) I don't deserve any of you. 

This chapter is a bit shorter than I had intended but I have the next almost finished so I should have that out by next week….honest!!

Chapter Five: 

Remus opened his mouth, and then closed it again several times in succession as he stared at Harry, his mind whirling; one half was busy berating himself for leaving the wallet in his coat pocket in the first place, whilst the other half was busy frantically trying to come up with some sort of reasonable explanation, all the while uncomfortably aware of Harry's furious gaze.

This was yet another thing that Remus had not been prepared for; 'Just whatever you do' Snape had warned him the night before, 'don't corner the boy. Just find out what's going on in that had of his, why he ran away in the first place. Do that softly softly thing you do so often to keep Black in line, whatever is necessary. Just don't give the bloody idiot reason to run away again.'

Right, thought Remus, steadily but unconsciously backing away from Harry and towards the wall, don't corner him.

"Er." He finally managed, somewhat eloquently, "I'm not going to hurt you."

Harry's response was a rather derisive snort, not that Remus could blame him. It was, after all, a bit of a stupid thing to say whilst cowering in thinly veiled fear against a wall. 

"Why don't you just answer my question" Harry demanded again. "Where did you get my wallet?"

Remus sighed and finally came to some sort of decision. If he was gong to mess this whole thing up then he might as well make sure that he did a thorough job of it.

"Your Godfather gave it to me."

It was an answer that Harry clearly had not been expecting. His whole being seemed to freeze an expression of surprise and confusion etched onto his pale face. He opened his mouth as if to speak, closed it, blinked twice heavily and tried again.

"What?" he finally managed, his voice quiet and slightly hoarse sounding.

"Your godfather gave it to me." Remus repeated, feeling that this whole experience was starting to get slightly farcical. "Look why don't we sit down and I'll explain everything properly, I promise."

Without waiting for a reply he crossed to the same chair he had been sitting in previously and plonked himself down with a heavy sigh. Harry remained where he had been standing for several seconds before first looking once more at the wallet he still had clutched in his hand and then back towards where Remus was now sitting.

"I don't have a godfather," he said slowly.

"Don't you?" Remus asked, raising his eyebrows, feeling slightly more at ease now that he knew there was no danger of his legs giving out. "Are you sure?""

"Yes!" Harry exclaimed, and then shook his head. "No. I" he broke off frustrated. "Who are you? What do you want?"

"My name is Remus Lupin" The older man replied. "I didn't lie to you about that. I am your godfather's best friend and I was also close friends with your parents for man years."

Harry just gaped at him for several minutes before sitting rather abruptly on the edge of the coffee table.

"You're lying" the younger man muttered desperately. "You gave to be."

"I'm not" Remus replied striving to keep his voice calm. "Harry, tell me, do you remember where you went to school. Where you grew up?"

Harry just shook his head, his expression strangely blank. "No" he said emotionlessly "I don't remember anything that happened before eight years ago."

Remus sighed and closed his eyes. He had thought as much but at least he actually knew now for certain. Harry was suffering from some kind of amnesia. Opening his eyes he looked at the young man who was still sitting on the edge of the table amidst several piles of papers, looking totally lost but still clutching both his own wallet and Remus' own coat. Well, the older man thought, might as well see if we can push him right over the edge.

"Harry" he said at length and took a deep breath, "I have to tell you…. you're a wizard."

There was a pause, Harry lifted his head and looked hard at the other man. Then he started to laugh. Loudly.

"I knew it!" he cried, springing to his feet. "You are crazy. Totally bonkers in fact. God for a minuet I almost believed you. I hoped.." he stopped and for a brief second his anger seemed to fade, Remus jumped at the opportunity.

"Harry, I'm not lying, why would I have reason to? You have to believe me. In fact, I'll prove it" and with a flourish he produced his wand from the side pocket of his trousers. He pointed it at one of Harry's mugs and with an imperceptible flick and a muttered incantation the mug slowly but surely lifted off the table and hovered there. Remus glanced back up at Harry and was startled to see that, instead of looking confused or surprised the young man was instead red with anger once more, Their eyes locked for a second and then before Remus could even blink Harry's hand had swept out and sent the mug crashing to the floor, the remaining coffee quickly spreading a stain across the carpet.

"You're crazy." He repeated "and I don't have time for parlour tricks. Now tell me the truth or I'm going to arrest you."

"Arrest me?" Remus echoed "On what grounds?" His mind was whirling trying to work out when things had turned so sour and how he could salvage the situation. There was only one remaining option and he put his hand in his pocket drawing out a small flat pebble that he had been given 'for emergency use only.'

"Look "he said "I can't seem to make you listen so I'm going to take you to someone who can. And with that he tossed the pebble straight at Harry who caught it reflexively.

Remus had a second to register the startled look on Harry's face as he glanced down at the pebble he had just caught before he disappeared with a faint pop!

Bursting rather ungracefully through the door to Severus Snape's office and startling the current occupants, Remus leaned heavily against the doorframe and tried to catch his breath his eyes quickly scanning the room. After Harry had unknowingly touched the port key which should have brought him to this very place Remus had himself apparated safely into Hogsmede, as close as it was now possible to get to the castle, and then proceeded to run the rest of the way back.

"Where is he?" he finally managed to gasp out only to be met by three very confused stares.

"Who " Snape asked, calmly leaning back in his chair, fingers tapping faintly on the edge of his desk.

"Harry" Remus clarified before repeating "Where is he?"

"Harry?" The question came from Hermione who Remus finally acknowledged with a quick nod of his head. She glanced quickly from Sirius' white face, to Snape's frowning one before settling back on Remus.

"Remus" she asked, her voice trembling only slightly "What are you talking about?"

Without answering Remus stumbled across the room into a hastily conjured chair and sat heavily, still scanning the room with his eyes, before finally turning to Snape.

"I found Harry" he said, without preamble and heard Hermione gasp. "But I think I really cocked it up. It seems that he has completely lost all memory of his childhood, so I was trying to get him on side but I still had his wallet in my pocket, I should have left it behind, I know but…anyway,  it fell out when I took my coat off and of course Harry picked it up and well, I panicked. I didn't have a clue what to do, so I tried to tell him the truth…" He broke off  helplessly. Snape sighed and rubbed his hand across his forehead but did not say anything. Remus took a deep breath and continued. "he didn't believe me of course, who would, and he's a policeman which makes him naturally suspicious I think, he said he was going to arrest me so in the end I tossed him the portkey you gave me Severus. It should have brought him into this office." He looked around again "You're sure he's not here?" he asked stupidly.

"Positive." Said Snape shortly "unless he's hiding under the desk." Abruptly the other man got to his feet and began to pace. "I made that portkey myself. If he's not here then someone must have interfered with it. You definitely saw him go?" he asked Remus, who simply nodded wordlessly in return, trying not to look in the direction of either Sirius' or Hermione's pale faces.

"Hmmm" was Snape's only response as he continued to pace brow furrowed deep in thought.

"Oh but…" Remus finally turned to look at Hermione who was now looking frantically between the three men in the room."He could be anywhere" she said wringing her hands and voicing what had been thinking since he had discovered the young man missing. There was a noise behind him, and Remus turned once again but this time to see a strangely silent Sirius get unsteadily to his feet before moving across the office to stare out of the wimdow. Sighing Remus moved to join his friend, ignoring Snape and Hermione who were now talking in low voices. 

"Sirius" he said quietly, attracting the other man's attention.

"Was it him Remus?" Sirius asked, without turning his gaze from the grounds."Was it really him?"

Remus nodded his head and managed a small smile "Yes Padfoot" he said and reached out a hand to squeeze his friend's shoulder. " It IS" he said emphatically, "It couldn't be anyone else."


	7. Chapter Six

Author's note: Thank you all so much for the reviews, I have over 50 which I find very exciting…sorry, again, for being longer than I promised, but this chapter was much more challenging than I had anticipated and the next one promises to be even more so, but I have five whole days off work over Christmas so hopefully I shall get quite a bit done. For now here's the new chapter and please let me know what you think :0)

Happy Christmas!

Chapter Six.

Whilst the three wizards and one witch were busy trying to find out where he had ended up Harry was busy trying, rather unsuccessfully not to panic. When he had reflexively caught the stone that Remus – if that was even his real name – had thrown to him, Harry had had only the merest second to look at the smooth black pebble lying in his open palm, before he had felt a sudden jerk behind his naval and the ground had disappeared from beneath his feet. Several nauseating seconds of blackness later and he had crashed down onto an unyielding stone floor before quickly opening his eyes and scrambling to his knees in a futile attempt to make sense of his current surroundings. 

He was sitting on the floor of what seemed to be a small underground cell of some sort. From what he could see by the dim light of the two flaming torches mounted on opposite walls, the walls themselves appeared to be carved out of solid rock and were glistening in the flickering light with a faint sheen of moisture. The floor was bare and slightly dusty and Harry could see no evidence of windows. The only way in or out was by the thick steel door fitted snugly into the wall in front of him. As soon as he had managed to get to his feet Harry had exerted all of his strength on trying to get the door to open but to no avail; it appeared to be locked fast, or was just very heavy. Either way he was not going to be able to get out and his calls for help had simply seemed to have been absorbed into the thick rock. So Harry had given up and now he was sitting on the cold stone floor waiting, and thinking.

Lupin had said that he knew him, well at least that he knew his parents and his godfather, but was the man really telling the truth? For years after waking in hospital Harry had waited and hoped for someone to come along and tell him who he was, but after time he had grown used to the fact that this was not going to happen and now this man. Harry had assumed the man was a liar, and a deranged one at that, what with all his tales of wizardry and magic, after all there was no such thing; although admittedly it was not every day that you were transported from one place to another with the aid of nothing more than a pebble. Harry sighed and rubbed his hand across his eyes, if Lupin was telling the truth about the magic, as absurd as that sounded then maybe he was telling the truth about all the rest as well. Harry lifted his head and studied the walls around him once more. All he had to do now was to find the man again.

His brow furrowed into an even deeper frown but before he had chance to again try and find a way out of his prison his thoughts were brought to an abrupt halt by the unmistakable sound of a key turning in a lock, followed by someone slowly easing the heavy door open. Scrambling to his feet once again Harry retreated to the back wall, as far away from whoever was going to come through that door as he could get and schooled his features into what he hoped was a blank mask. The door finally opened fully and three people entered the small room. They were all dressed in long flowing black robes, similar to the ones he had seen the night he followed the figures into South Park and Harry felt ice cold fear clutch at his heart. Two of the figures were also wearing black masks hiding their features and all three were holding thin sticks out in front of them. It was the middle figure however that Harry's gaze finally rested on. Unmasked, he could see that the features were unquestionably that of a woman. Tall and thin, with white blonde hair, hollow cheeks and glittering blue eyes that were surveying Harry with evident dislike; it was she who spoke.

"My dear Mr Potter" she said, her voice sending chills down his spine. "So nice to see you again after all these years"

"Who are you?" he asked, pleased that at least his voice was steady. He saw the woman frown as she stepped further into the cell.

"Surely you remember me Harry? After all it wasn't that long ago that you murdered my family."

Harry felt his mouth drop open as the woman studied him for several more seconds before nodding almost imperceptibly and sweeping from the room, leaving the other two cloaked figures to drag a still stunned Harry out behind her.

Twelve hours later Sirius rubbed his hand across his eyes and expelled his frustration on a long sigh. Raising weary eyes he locked his gaze on the young witch sitting in a chair opposite the fire.

"Explain that to me again" he said "More slowly and without the big words"

Hermione smiled softly and pulled her chair closer to his.

"We all have different magical signatures " she explained "that identify us in the same way that out fingerprints do." She looked at Sirius to check he was following and he urged her on with an impatient wave of his hand.

"Now during the war Voldemort devised a sort of tracking spell based on the one used to detect under-aged magic. All he needed was something which a person had charmed in some way to give him a copy of their signature and then once the spell was cast anytime they used a magical means of transportation, apparition, floo or port-key, they would automatically be transported to him, no matter where they were trying to get to."

Sirius sighed again "I remember now," he said "but I thought the spells were taken off of you all when Voldemort was defeated?" Hermione nodded. "They should have been ended automatically with Voldemort's death, but we worked the coulter-curse on me and Ron just to be sure, but Sirius, not on Harry. He wasn't there."

"It's the best explanation" Snape interrupted. "Evidently either the trace is still on Potter, or someone has the knowledge to re-produce it, which means we have to find him and quickly."

"How do we do that?" Remus asked quietly.  
"It's surprisingly simple really," Hermione said, with a rueful smile. "All we need is a copy of Harry's signature and then we can manipulate the trace already on him so that instead of it bringing him to us it will take us to him. Then we remove the trace and bring him back here." 

Sirius nodded and got to his feet. "Good" he said, "let's get started"

Three more hours and the use of one charmed birthday card later and they were ready to go. In a small circle Sirius, Remus, Snape and Hermione all stood with one finger on the edge of the card, wands at the ready waiting patiently for Snape to utter the incantation needed to activate the port key. Closing his eyes he lifted his wand and seconds later they were gone. 

Landing heavily Snape struggled to retain his footing and barely managed to refrain from snapping at Hermione when he felt her clutch at his arm in an attempt to hold herself up. He felt his shoulder slam against what felt like a fairly solid stone wall, preventing him from falling in a rather undignified heap and gently but firmly pushed Hermione away from him as he waited for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. Behind him he could hear Black and Lupin stumbling about and he turned to face them, noting that they were standing in what appeared to be a long rocky passage way lit by flaming torches fixed sporadically along one wall. The dampness of the walls told him they were underground and behind Black and Lupin he could make out an open door of some sort. Pushing past them he cautiously entered the small room only to find it completely empty. Turning back to his companions he signified with a jerk of his head and a finger to his lips that they should follow quietly and headed back up the passage away from the small cell.

Moving quietly Snape noted the gradual rise of the passage, the air was becoming drier and a faint glow of natural light was coming from somewhere above him. After what seemed like hours, but was likely only minutes the passage evened out and now there were small windows near the roof and in front of him he could see another open door. Approaching it cautiously, aware of the others close behind he peered round the edge of the doorway and discovered a second larger corridor with three more doors leading off from it, one which was standing slightly ajar with a soft glow of light seeping through the gaps. Motioning the others to follow with a quick flick of his hand he edged slowly towards the door, his ears picking up the sound of voices as he got closer, before he finally peered through the gap; and winced.

A man who was unmistakably Harry Potter sat slumped in the centre of the room bound hand and foot to a high backed wooden chair. His eyes were closed and Snape hoped that meant he was unconscious as he studied the black bruising rising on the left side of the young man's face. His dark hair was plastered to his forehead by a mixture of sweat and blood; his lip split and the fingers of his right hand were twisted in a way that Snape knew they were not supposed to be able to bend. His shirt was dirty and torn as were his trousers in a way that suggested he had been dragged some distance on his knees. Scanning the rest of the room he quickly took in the positions of the three thick set wizards who seemed to be standing guard over the unconscious man, and tried to calculate the distances of all from the door; before turning to face the expectant faces of his three companions. Grimacing he motioned them again to be silent then ushered them away from the door, speaking as quietly as he could.

"Potter is bound to a chair in the centre of the room, there are two men to the right, one to the left. Lupin, you see to Potter and hold onto him while Miss Granger removes the trace, Black take the man on the left, I'll deal with the ones on the right. As soon as Potter is free, we get out of here. No heroics, understand?" he added with a pointed glance at Sirius who was looking at him pale faced, fists clenched and fire in his eyes. The man nodded.

"Good." Snape said and they all crossed back to the room and on Snape's signal entered.

Hearing the door open Sirius lifted his eyes from his godson's still form to see Hermione enter the room closely followed by Severus Snape. Giving him a weak smile Hermione crossed the room and sat down in the chair on Harry's other side, gingerly picking up his now healed right hand and gently stroking the back of it. It had been over a day now since they had rescued Harry and thanks to several strong sleeping charms cast to aid his healing he had yet to regain consciousness.

"How is he?" Hermione asked, keeping her voice low. Sirius shrugged.

"He hasn't woken up yet." He replied, his eyes not leaving Harry's pale face. "Do you know what's wrong with his memory yet?" he asked. Hermione nodded.

"It's just a memory charm." She told him. "Quite a strong one, but Professor Snape should be able to remove it." Sirius looked at the other man.

"Well go on then." Snape crossed the room and looked at Harry.

"Don't you think it would be better to wait until Potter wakes up and ask his opinion on this?" he asked calmly. Sirius shook his head.

"He can't remember anything, how will he know what's the right thing?" he demanded. "Please, just do it now. It's time we got our Harry back." Snape studied him for long moments before looking at Hermione who was still holding Harry's hand, then at Lupin standing at the window with his back to the room. "Lupin?" he asked. Remus turned slightly.

"He wants to remember" he said "he's just scared to I think, this way might be easier for him." Snape sighed and then looked back at Harry.

"Very well," Sitting on the edge of the bed he gently placed the tip of his wand against Harry's forehead before speaking too quietly for the others to hear what he said. Sirius watched as the tip of the wand glowed white and a shudder passed through Harry's body. Replacing his wand back in the sleeve of his robe Snape stood and moved back from the bed.

"It's done; he should remember everything when he wakes." He told them and swept from the room. 

To Be Continued……


	8. Chapter Seven

Author's note: OK I admit, it has been a ludicrously long time since I updated this so I am not actually sure if anyone will still be reading it or not. In my defence RL has been exhausting of late and I am suffering from a rather severe bout of writer's block with this...so if anyone has some suggestions on where they think they might want to see this all go next I would love to hear them.  
  
Thanks so much to everyone who has reviewed this story so far, particularly for the last chapter thanks me^,^, Fair Lady Ravenclaw, Iniysa, S@bre Bl@ck, Samantha Black, Summersun, Black Lace, Fate's Child, Charma1219 and Vanne , I am astonished that I have as many reviews as I do and appreciate each and everyone, its those reviews that have made me sit down in an attempt to finish this.so thanks!!  
  
On to the chapter, not much action I am afraid and incredibly short as well, for which I apologise but I hope it answers some questions.  
  
Chapter Seven.  
  
For Harry waking up was a gradual process. The first thing to return was the physical sensation; the feeling that he was no longer kneeling on a cold stone floor, or tied upright in a stiff backed chair, but that he was in fact lying on what appeared to be a soft mattress, covered by cool, soft sheets. Smell followed next, that crisp and slightly sweet smell, which can always be associated with hospitals of any description. Finally there was the return of sound, of the faint rattle and clink of glass bottles somewhere off to his right and closer, on his left, the gentle sounds of someone's deep breathing.  
  
Trying to avoid making any sound himself and alerting others to the fact he was now awake, Harry slowly opened his eyes and tried to focus on his surroundings. Staring up at the vast expanse of a white washed, curved ceiling high above him, it did not take long for Harry to recognise the Hogwarts hospital wing, even without his glasses, considering how often he had found himself in almost this exact position during his school years. Stifling a sigh he turned his head slightly to the left and his gaze fell on the sleeping figure slumped in the chair by his bed, Sirius was sat with one elbow wedged between his body and the arm of the chair, his head, titled at an uncomfortable looking angle, propped on his hand. His face was pale and unshaven, his clothes rumpled and he looked like he had not slept in days. Harry felt a lump rise in the back of his throat and he tried to blink against the burning in his eyes as he took in his godfather's too thin face, the dark smudges underneath the closed eyes, the lines around his mouth. Harry blinked again furiously as his vision swam and swallowed thickly against the lump. He looked old, he realized with a start, Sirius looked old and Harry did not doubt for one second that it was his fault.  
  
Closing his eyes Harry turned his head away from his godfather, took a deep, shaky breath and tried to calm down, to make some kind of sense of the jumbled mess that was his mind. It seemed as though there were suddenly a million thoughts, pictures and faces rushing around in his head trying to get into some kind of order. There were memories he had from growing up, from childhood, school and then there were the ones from the hospital after the accident, Harry's stomach lurched at the last. It was too much to take in all at one, two different lives to remember, to deal with and Harry was not sure what to do with either one.  
  
There was a rustle of fabric next to him and he heard Sirius' breathing quicken as the other man woke up. There was a small grunt as the animagus stretched stiffened joints and Harry squeezed his eyes closed more tightly and willed himself not to put his hands over his ears in what would be a futile attempt block out the rest of the world. Unable to prevent it, he felt a solitary tear squeeze its way free to roll unchecked down his cheek. There was a sharp intake of breath and then.  
  
"Harry?"  
  
Swallowing Harry turned his head once more and fixed watery eyes on the expectant and almost painfully hopeful face of the other man. He licked suddenly dry lips and nodded.  
  
"Sirius" he managed to croak out in reply, his voice barely more than a whisper but the effect that that one quiet word had on the other man was instant. His whole face lighting up with the relieved smile that spilt his ragged features, Sirius pulled his chair forward slightly and reached out a trembling hand to grasp Harry. Without even meaning to Harry flinched and pulled his hand quickly away before Sirius could touch it. Sirius wide grin faltered slightly as his brow creased again into a slight frown and ashamed Harry quickly tried to cover his unconscious reaction by lifting his hand to his face and rubbing at his eyes. There was an uncomfortable pause as Sirius settled back in his chair, both hands now firmly clasped in his lap.  
  
"How are you feeling?" Sirius asked, finally breaking the strained silence. Harry just shrugged.  
  
"Tired." He replied finally. "Confused." Sirius nodded.  
  
"That's to be expected I suppose." He paused "Do you..?" He broke off "What do remember?" Harry closed his eyes and swallowed thickly having no idea what he should say, or what Sirius wanted to hear.  
  
"I'm not sure" he said vaguely "Everything? Nothing? It's all muddled" he waved a hand over his head as if that would explain everything he could not manage to put into words. Sirius brow furrowed even further in an equal mix of confusion and concern.  
  
"I don't understand." He said. "You know me though right? You recognise me?" he asked and it was impossible for Harry to miss the desperation in his voice. Harry nodded.  
  
"Yes. I know you, and I know where I am and I remember Hogwarts and.." Harry stopped and sighed again "it just needs...organising" Sirius seemed to find his explanation more satisfactory and his face broke in a smile again and this time when he reached out, Harry forced himself to remain still and let the other man grasp his hand firmly.  
  
"That's alright Harry" he said warmly "take as much time as you need. I'm just pleased to have you back, you can't imagine what I've been through." Sirius stopped and squeezed his hand. "But that doesn't matter now, just rest and you'll be back to your old self in no time ok?"  
  
Almost suffocating under the weight of the guilt pressing down on him as he looked into his godfather's bright eyes, Harry nodded, then closed his eyes and turned away from Sirius; rolling over so that his back was facing the other man, trying to ignore the nausea rolling around in the pit of his stomach as he heard Sirius leave with a heavy sigh. 


	9. Apologies

A message to all of the wonderful people who have taken the time to read and review this story. (Posted by a kindly friend on my behalf) First of all, please accept my apologies for have gone such a long time with no update and then again for this actually not being a chapter I never intended to leave it this long and as so many of you have been loyally reading this and reviewing despite some already long breaks I thought you deserved an explanation which is the best I can do for showing you all how much I appreciate you ( I want to start by saying I had intended to finish this story and hope to still do so however, over the last four months or so I have suffered a rather sever loss of vision and this prevents me from now being able to read, access my computer, write etc and so consequently have had to take an enforced break from the fandom. Not only have I been unable to work on my story but I have yet to read Ootp as I can't read the large print or afford the tapes so what with one thing and another my interest has waned slightly. As I am attempting to go to university in a week to study for a Masters degree (more fool me) I am getting some specialist stuff which hopefully will mean. I can get back on line etc and hopefully will enable me to pick this up again, get some new chapters out and revise the old ones. That is the plan anyway and I just wanted you to know I hadn't forgotten this. I do plan on finishing it but it may be a while yet. Thankyou all once again for your fabulous reviews, I appreciate each and every one of them. Carrie 


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